Fluid-circulating apparatus.



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` FLUD CIECULATIG APPARATUS ArrLrouIorr Hmm un. i1, 1m. f

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3G.v w; NISTL l 'Rg I.. simon.' n* FLUID'CRGUTING APPARATUS. Hummm; nu1.13.11. 1909.

' f Patented 001;. 4, 1910` 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, 'Mimese f j wherebythe pressure yis equalized and the .Gnomiz-1' w..nIs'rLnor MUsiEGoN, MICHIGAN, 'AND Ronnafr L. G'IFFORD, or carcasas,` yy f ILLINOIS. Y .l f v ATo all Iwhom. it may concern: .lie it known thatwe, (leonor: W. Nis'rLi-i andv Romain' L. (heroin), `citizens of theUnited States, residing,` respectively, at the cityofMuskegon,county ofMuskegon, and'- State -of Michigan, and at the city of (,hi`

f cago, county of Cook, andState of Illinois,

`proveinents in Fluid `Circulating A have invented certain new andusefulIm- Pa ratas, of whichv the following is a speciriica` tion.

This invention relates to improvements in.

ap aratus for circulating motive fluid and' pressnreto said condensedfluid to equalize ply,

. static head.-

vthe pressure on either-side of the latter and' permit it to renter theboiler by its hydro` Among thefobiects of the inventionl are to providean apparatus of the above charactery whereby` the exhaustluid is firstcondensed and theniestored to the boiler as feed sup'- without the aidofr a pump or other l external source of pressure, and these operafacecondensation from a suitable source of' tions carried on continuously'and automatically ;g to provide an a paratus in which the collectedexhaust tlui is condensed by' sur- Lsup ly, the latter automatically cutof at pre eter-mined intervals and livefluidthen automatically admittedat boiler pressure'to the tank containing the condensed fluid condensedexhaust permitted to renter the f boiler by gravity; to rovide anapparatus l steammay of this character in vw iich the above operationsare automatically regulated by simple valve mechanisms which are in turncontrolled by the exhaust tluid itself; to provide an apparatus of thecharacter referred to in which .the operations of collecting andcondensing the exhaust fluid and restoringy the latter to the boilerare'carried on periv odically at predetermined intervals without anyexternal regulation orrcontrol. In the present instance we have shownour apparatus' for circulating motive fluids as applied'l to :a steamheating system although' it-1s apparent that motive fluids other thanthan that shown vin the drawings.

In the apparatus here shown Figure 1 kFL'UIVDCIRCUL1TING' APPARATUS 1 YSpecicatioaot Letters Patent. Applicationfiledlareh 11, 1909.Serial'No.11:82,(598.

bev used and for purposes other Patented oct. 4, 191e.

ing system equipped with our improved apthrough lines 2-2 of Fig. 1andshowing designates diagrammaticallya steam heatparatus for :carryingout our method. Fig. I

2 is a horizontal sectional view taken the condensing coils Within thetank inV which the exhaust steam is collected. -Fig.. 'A 3 is `anenlarged .detail viewofthe dia- 1. phragm and connected'valves whichregulate the admission of the live steam tothe condensing tank andthe'cold Water tothe condensing coils. F ig. 4 is an enlarged sectionalview of the piston valve which controls thediaphragm. f j

Y Referring to Fig. 1,71 designates the boiler which is connected to aradiator 2 by the vof usual pipe 3 leading from the steam space 'y sideoi' the boiler. From the opposite side of the radiator is connected theexhaust pipe 4 which cylinder 5 mounted iii-any `suitable nianner abovethe water line of the boiler l. this exhaust pipe 4 is interposed acheck valve opening into the tank, for a pur- 'pose hereinafterdescribed. The lower side yof the tank 5 is provided with .a depressedportion 5 'to which is connected a vertically l extending pipe i' thelower end of which communicates withthe. boiler 1.. lVithiir this pipe 7is interposed an ordinary check leadsv into a condensing tank or,

Iny

.valve Sipening into the boiler'. It will thus be seen that normally thesteam circulatts from the steam space side of'tlierboiler out throughthe radiators and back into the condensing tank 5 in the usual manner.'The steam a`s it is condensed in the tank5 in the manner hereinafterdescribed collects in the lower part of the tank and in the pi 7, butinasnnieli as the hydrostatic hea( 'of the condensed exhaust isobviously much less than the boiler pressure, the cheek valve 8 willremain closed and the condensed steam will not' be able to renter theboiler as feed water. L.

As heretofore stated the exhaust, steam after it has been collected inthe tank 5 is first condensed, the condensing liquid cut.v off and livesteam admitted at boiler pressure into the tank to e yualize thepressure and permit the ch'eck va ve 8 to open through the ply of thebuildingv toene end-of the tank 5 l and is there connected toaVcoxu'lensing coil 10. yThis condensing coil is seatedk within the tanknear the upper side of the latter, and is supported at one end by a rod11 extending`V through the sides ofthe tankrand at'. its other endenitends throughand is supported'by the removable end closure niember12. The outlet end of the. condensing coil 10 is'connected--to a'wastepipe 13 leadingr to the sewer vor-.backto the cold watersupply. lVithinthis branhjpipe Qleading from the cold water supplyisintroduced a globe.valve 150i well known type hereinafter more particularly described.

ln order. that live steam may be admitted to. the condensing tank 5 to:equalize the pressure, the'bran'ch steam ipe 14 is con` nected at oneend to the mam pipe .leading from the `high pressure side of the boiler,and at its other end to the tank asshown at 17., T hesupply'of livesteam to the tank from the pipe 14 is normally cut otby a globevalve 16,generally similar in oOnstructionV to" the valve lrreferred to. Theval-ve disks which control thepassage of water and.k steam through therespective ipes 9 and 14 are so `connected together t iat, when onevalve is open `the other will be closed. .To this end a flexiblediaphragm 17 is mounted in the diaphragm casing 18 supported upon asuitable bracket 18 fixed to the top of the tank 5 in the presentinstance. lTo the upper side of this diaphragm 17 ris connected thevalve stemll) carrying atits upper end the valve disk 20 of the uppervalve 16. The valve disk 22 of the lower valve 15 is similarlyvconncctcdto the diaphragm by means of its stem 21. As seen *more clearly in Fig.3 .thesevalve stems l!) and 2,1 work through suitable bearings orguides'l and, 20' carried reslxctively by the diaphragm casing 18 andthe castings of the globe valves. 'l'llesei'alac"stems and connecteddisks are so arranged that when pressure is appliedy to the lower :sideof thel diaphragm 17 the valve 15 will be. opened and the val-ve 16closed; exact-ly the revelse conditions/result when pressure is appliedto the upper side of the diaphragm. Ikscribing now the manner ofoperating this diaphragm 17 so as to open ard close the valves, arelativelysmall supply pipe 23 isv connected at one end tov the vbranchpipe 9 leading from the cold water supply, and at its other end tothepiston va vve, designated' as a whole 24. It is to. be noted that thepipe 23 conm-iunicates with the cold water supply pipe 9 at a point.between the inlet ofthe latter and its globen-'alvell Accordingly the.supply of water tothe pipe 23 is not. Ain any way affected by the actionof the glol-)e val-'ve 15 referred to.

Referring now more particularly to Fig!A 4 the valve 24 comprises acasing 25' provided with an elongated-and vertically extending valvechamber 26.` This valve chamber'2 communicates atits upper and lowenends with the supply pipe 23 by means of suitable luy-passesor ducts 27,28 respectively2 and a' commonin-letport 29. At. itsopposite side the.valve casing 25' is provided with two outlet' orts 30,131 and a commonexhaust rt 32. Thev ports 30-and 31 are `controlle respect-ively byclosure rings 34, oicarried by a valve piston 33 mounted to ,reciprocatein vvthe valve casing 25. `These rings are so are' ranged that when thepiston is near its upper limit of movement as shown in F ig. 4. thelower poit 3l will communicate with the by-pass 28 rndsupply pipe23,while at. the same time the portBO will be positively cut olf from theupper by-pass 27 by means ou itsv closure ring 34. 'Exactly the reversecon-4 ditions existl when the piston isshifted to its lower position.The middle orexhaust port 32 'alternately communicates with the upperand lower ports` 30 and' 31 respectively and to this port connected. awaste or exhaust pipe 37. In order to cushion the stroke of the piston33 the port 31 is set,v above thefinlet of theby-pass 28` so Vthat; partot the water in the lower` endA of the-chamber will be trapped upon thedescent of the piston and serve bo cushion theY stroke of the latter.The piston valve is connected with the diaphragm casing as follows: Tothe upper portl 30 is connected a pipe- 39 which leads to andcommunicates with the upper side of the diaphragm 17 while in the samemanner a similar pipe 10 communicates at one end with the port 31 and atits other end with the lower spideof the diaphragm.

From'the 'foregoing it will be seen that when communication isestablished between the port I and the by-pass 28 pressure will beadmitted ,to the lower sideV of the vdiaphragm 17 through thc-pipe 40;while at the same timertle upper portBO will be 'cutl olf from theily-pass' 27 and opened" to `the exhaustv port 32. Accordingly the valvestems will be shifted upwardly, the valve 15 opened and the`corresponding valve 16 1 closed. 'hen the piston is shifted in theopposite direction exactly the reverse conditions result pressure beingadmitted to the upper Vside of the diaphragmY and removed from the lowerside thereof. The condensing,` water and the live steam will thus bealternately `admitted tov and cut oil from the tank'.` Y 1 'Describingnow themanner of operating the piston 33, extending transversely of thecondensing tank 5 near one end thereof is rotatably journalcd a-.rockshaft 41to which is connectedl a vfloat 42 b v means. of a stem 43. Oneend of this roek'shafr. 41 extends'through the side of the.A tank asshown more clear-ly in Fig. 2 and to vthis extensionofthe sha-ft isrigidly connected a rocking lever The free endrof this lover arm 4l isprovided 1 with a laterally projecting stud 45y whichV new @avanzo Y v.3

rides within a link 46 mounted upon the upitsl lower v side elevatedabove the bottom' of per end of the stein of the' piston`33. Theconnection between the lever armftt and the linkf45 is in ell'eet a lostmotion connection, so that the pistoimvill be actuated only when thelever arm* v44 isapproximately yat its limit of movement `ineither-direction. In

otherv vwords during the greater part of them'ovement of thetloatthestud lit''will ride loosely in Vthe link 46 and will onlyactiate the latter as the float reaches tsflimit ,of movement in eitherdirection. l The ,mannerof operating the piston is apparent from theabove description. Before the condensed exhaust steam has Vaccumulatedinfthe .bottom of the tank the-float will, of course'be down and thepiston .rod raised to the position, shown in Fig. 4. At thisl time thepipe 40 leading tothe lower side of the diaphragm is in conununicationwiththe'supply pipe 23, the valve 15 is open and' the correspondingvalve 16 closed ras heretofore described. AS the water ofcont'iensationaccumulates in the pipeI 7 and tank 5 the float 42 will gradually rise,and as it approachesits upper limit of movement the stud'45 will engagethelovver end of the link .4G and shift the piston downwardly.V` Thiscuts off-thesupply of water to the pipe 40. and opens the latter to theexhaust 37. Tlrepressure on the lower side of the diaphragmisaccordingly removed. At the same time .communication is establishedbetween the supply ypipe 23l and the'pipe 39. leading tothe upperside'ofthe diaphragm whereupon the valve stems '19 and 2l are shifteddownwardly, the valve 15 closed and the valve 16 opened. Livesteamnowrushes into the condensing tank o through the branch pipe 14 andeqnalizes the pressure upon opposite sidesof the water ofcondensation'in thetank'. The check valve 6 interposed in the exhaustpipe 4 will, of course, prevent; the live steaml from backing upvagainst u the exhaust and. inasmuch as the pressure on the oppositesides of ther vater of condensation is equali'zed the latter will ygravity open thecheck valve Sand reenter the boileras feed water.

f. The operation of the a-pparatussliown will..

be apparentV from the foregom description and neednot ltherefore bevdcscri `ed in detail'. l-Iov'ever, it is to be'particularly notedv thatthe various opera-tions of our methods are cam'ied on continuously andautomatican'y;

that the various valve mechanisms have simpleand positive actions andthat ,the inter-v vals at which,` live steam` may be admitted to the,tankmay be easil'yregulated' by adjusting' the leverage mechanismwhich. controls the4 piston valvel 24;.

lle claim as our invention:

1'. The combination -with a motive fluid syitem,of a boiler forsupplying fluid to s'aid system, a condensing tank connected to theexhaust side of said system and having mechanism and/fa conduitconnecting-the tank to they boiler to' permit thc-condensed exhaustfluid tov rentcr the lattcn'aud novmally closedfvalvel mechanisminterposed in said conduit. 1 A

2'. AIn a fluid circulating apparatus, t vthe combination of a boiler, acirculating system external to the boiler, a condensing tank connectedto the returnsidc of said system, surface condensing apparatus forsubjecting the steam in said condensing tank to the action of acondensing'mcdium,Y means for intermittently interrupt-ing the action ofsaid condensin' medium, connections for conducting "livefstcomsubstantially at boiler pressure to said condensing tank, a conduitconnecting the lower part of said tank withr said boiler, and automaticvalve mechanism controlling the admission ofvlive steam to saidcondensing tank. H ,n

3. Ir. a Huid -circulating apparatus, the combination of a boi r, acirculating system external to the boiler, a condensing tank' Vruismcontrolling the flow of condensing medium, and means operated by theaccumulation of water of condensation for 'controlling both of saidautomatic valve mechanlSmSu I y' 4."Th'e' combination with a motivelluidsystem, Yof'a boiler for supplying live fluidto said system, acondensing tank connectedV to the exhaust side of said s stem, Iand,having its lower sideelevat'eda ove the bottom of said' boiler, acondensing coilL seated 1n said tank and connected to an external sourceof condensing fluid, means for supplymg Afluid atsubstantiallyboiler'pressure to sai Itank, automatically controlledvalve mechanisnrregulatin the supply o condensine' fluid te said coi andthc supply of live fluidi to said tank, anda conduit connecting saidtank to the boiler and normally closed valve mechanism interposed insaid condu'* .5. In a' fluid-circulating apparatus, the

15Min' tl i il eonibinntionof a boiler, a closed circulating systemexternal tothe boiler, acondensimr tunk connected tothe return side' ofsniil system, aclosed surface condensing coil', :1r-. ranged. within'Suid tank, vulve mechanism for controlling the flow of condensing mcdiumthrough said coil, 'connections for conducting live steam substantiallyatboiler pressure to said condensing tank, vnlve mechanism' controllingsaid connections, a conduit connecting,r the lower pzirt'of -su'id tankwith said 'boileiyvalve mechanism controlling said conduit'. a sourceofypoxver, iudependent of the hydrostatic head of eollected )vater ofcondensation, for actuating said first two vnlvemeclianisms, und menusactui ated bythe accumulation ofr water of con densation in said tank orcontrolling said source offpower. K y Y l 6. In a fluid-circulatingapparatus, the combination' of a boiler, a. closed circulating,r system`external to the boiler, n condensing tank connected tothe return sideofsaid system, a closed surface condensing coil :irranged within Suidtank, valve incclmni'sm for `controlling the flow of condensing 'mcdiumthrough said coil, connections-fol.' conducting live.V steamrsubstzmtiall)- :it boiler pressure tosztid condensing tank, Valvemechanism controlling said connections, a iconduit' connectingtlxelower'part of said tank with said boiler, valve mech-:mismcontrolling said conduit, a source of power,` independent. of thehydrostatic liendof collected Water' of condensation, for actuating Suid35 first two 4valve mechanisms, and means actuated by the accumulationof Water of condensation in said/'tank for controlling said source ofpower, said valve-actuating.mechanism embodyingmeans whereby the several40 vulves are actuated in definite timed relation.

GEORGE W'. NISTLE. ROBERT L. GIFFORI). 'itnesses to signature VofvGeorge XV. `Xie-le y 1". J. HANSEN,v 'J. COX.vr I` 'iinesses tosignature of' Robert L. Gifford: l

M. BoLsTizR',

lLizAlzrz'rn Lum.

i i f i i. i

